Gender and Modern-Day Slavery: Aggression and Violence in the Context of a Nigerian Focus

Abstract

This chapter explored the various forms of gender-based modern-day slavery in Nigeria. Such modern slaveries as baby factories (unlawful maternity and orphanages where children are sold and their mothers serve as ‘economic-slaves, sex-slaves, procreation-slaves, and money-ritual-slaves’), peonage (debt bondage), and early forced marriage were found to be common and on the increase in Nigeria and fundamentally precipitated by patriarchy. The predictors and risk factors of these slavery typologies were supported by the tenets of feminist and political economy theories, which formed the framework. A patriarchal society engenders inequalities, alienation, subjugation, aggression, violence, deprivations, and frustration, with women on the receiving end, when compared to men. The female population is largely the victim, while most perpetrators are males. The new, emerging trend in slavery enterprise are typically organised and largely motivated by women’s vulnerabilities and powerlessness, with dehumanising and destructive consequences. Arising from this is the conclusion that certain cultural practices and socioeconomic forces intertwine with poverty, lack of qualitative education, and other exclusions to expose women and girls to servitudes. The problem requires robust intersectoral approaches—that is, coordinated intervention, programmes, and collaborative efforts between governments and local authorities and institutions—to (re)solve.

1. Introduction

One of the major but somewhat overlooked social problem confronting Nigeria is gender-based slavery, which translates into aggression and violent behaviour. The ancient forms of slavery were abolished several decades back, but have been supplanted by ‘modern-day slavery’. The resurgence manifests in various dimensions, such as peonage (i.e., debt bondage), forced child labour, early and forced marriage, (child) sex trafficking, sex slavery, and illegal detention of young girls in ‘baby factories’ (unlawful maternity and orphanages where children are sold and their mothers serve as ‘economic-slaves, sex-slaves, procreation-slaves, and money-ritual-slaves’).

Eteng et al. [1] acknowledged that ‘slavery was a common practice in most ancient cultures and civilisations. At present, however, old forms of slavery have continued to disappear, reinvigorated and quickly reintroduced, or are replaced with more agonising but somewhat unnoticed patterns and trends’. The bilateral reports of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPECL) revealed that most of the countries experiencing high levels of human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery are typically developing or transitioning countries, whose societies are experiencing some degree of internal strife and/or developmental stagnation [2, 3].

The new or emerging slavery wave has taken completely different dimensions from the ancient forms, despite the abolition and existing punitive measures put in place to grapple with this phenomenon. These modernised forms of slavery flourish on both national and transnational scales and are often driven by globalisation trends. Like other organised economic crimes, such as kidnapping and hostage-taking, Nwadiaro and Nkwocha [4] explained that the problem has been attributed to the rapid urbanisation that was necessitated by the industrialisation of the urban centres. This is because the development of urban centres has destroyed the traditional sense of community that is associated with rural villages and thus undermining the informal mechanism of social control and giving room for various kinds of crime [5].

Although some types of modern-day slavery share certain attributes with trans-Atlantic servitudes, their current patterns and trends have been significantly worrisome in recent times because of the involvement of different classes of people and extreme aggression and violence attached to the criminal enterprise. For instance, Bales [2] stated that human trafficking, like any other forms of contemporary slavery, engenders conditions of modern slavery and severe human rights violations, where victims are exploited for economic gains and sexual gratification, and they remain unable to free themselves from the abusive and exploitative slavery conditions. This usually involves the recruiters, document forgers, brokers, brothel owners, employment agencies, and, in some cases, government officials [3].

Generally, the women population remains the most vulnerable victims, while men are the major perpetrators. But this should not vitiate the fact that men can also be both offenders and victims. Establishing a clear case of gender differentials in the determination of victims and offenders of modern slavery, Bulman [6] explained that women and girls make up more than seven in 10 of the world’s modern slavery victims, while 90% of victims of forced labour in the commercial sex industry are females. ILO reported that, while 71% of trafficking victims the world over are women and girls, 29% are men and boys [7, 8]. This constitutes serious human rights violations and structural violence and aggression targeted against women and girls, and is rather more pronounced in patriarchal cultures. As Eteng and Njemanze [1, 9, 10] observed, patriarchy encourages aggression and violence against women, and thus, such crime as slavery is not unexpected in a society where patriarchy is entrenched. The reason is not farfetched: The system makes women, more than any other population in society, structurally powerlessness, culturally susceptible to harm and abuse, socially excluded, and economically incapacitated.

Indeed, young women and children are the most vulnerable victims of baby factories, human trafficking, peonage, forced marriage, and so on. The children are forced to beg for alms on the streets, hawk, or sell articles of trade in motor parks and on highways, while young boys and girls, on the other hand, are trafficked for domestic servitude, pornographic promotion, exploitative labour, forced prostitution, and such other crimes and criminality [1]. Generally, victims suffer abuse and neglect, harm, mistreatment, exploitation, and extortion, as they try to offset family-accrued debts that put them in bondage or to improve the low socioeconomic conditions that caused their exposure to victimisation. Against this backdrop, this chapter sets out to uniquely explore modern-day slavery as an aggression and violent behaviour in the context of Nigeria, with emphasis on the ever-changing forms, predictors, and risk factors of this social problem. Doing this is a scholarly effort to contribute to the relatively a few existing bodies of knowledge on the phenomenon to understand and explain what works for effective policy direction and interventions.

2. Theoretical framework

Complemented with the principles of the political economy perspective, the feminist theory appears suitable to assist in understanding and explaining the gender and crime of modern-day slavery in Nigeria. As attested by extant and current studies [see 1, 5, 10–15], a critical question that often appears in gender literature has been: ‘And what about the women’? Contextually, this question seeks to interrogate the motivation for the exposure of women to the aggression and violent behaviour of baby factories, peonage, early forced marriage, and other slavery conditions. The women’s vulnerability to these crimes is intrinsically found in patriarchy, which describes a power relationship inherent in the structures and social relations within which the subordination and exploitation of women occurs and it is used to explain the institutionalisation of male power and domination over women (Walby, 1980, pp. 173–201 as cited in [11], p. 243). Particularly, Nigeria has been described as a society where the practice of patriarchy is deep-rooted with an unbalanced political economy that deprives children and women of certain rights and privileges but favours their male counterparts [1, 10].

An important radical expression of women empowerment since the inception of the feminist movement worldwide is persistent human rights advocacy as it affects women under patriarchal hegemony. This advocacy has been consistently pursued by several women groups through the mass media, legal battles, demonstrations, social criticisms, and intellectual discourses, as typified by recent happenings in Nigeria and the world over (see [10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15]). Yet, women are increasingly exposed to aggression and violence that are somewhat unnoticed or sometimes noticed but ignored, because such acts find justification(s) in the culture and traditions of the people. This is where feminism coincides with political economy to further explain the enslavement and exploitation of women. Both theories emphasised contradictions arising from the social, political, and economic arrangements of society. Nigeria has been described as a class-determined and class-structured society that is in perpetual conflict [10]. The contradiction is mostly favourable to men, while children and women are at disadvantage. The reason is not that men are more diligent and resourceful when compared to women, but ‘communal wealth’ is fundamentally determined by the culture and tradition of our society which are strongly patriarchy-oriented.

The expectations of feminism interact with political economy underpinnings to critically analyse gender as a determinant of modern-day slavery in Nigeria. The two theories explain how the sociocultural system provides a framework for dominance and determines class struggle and power relations that detect who (mainly women) to use as slaves under any pretext. Patriarchy breeds both relative and marginal poverty, inequalities, alienation, and social exclusion, with women and children bearing the brunt of this structural violence and aggression [1]. From the political economy perspective, for instance, people of lower-class status experience sociopolitical deprivations, frustration, inequalities, aggression, and violence.

Men are also affected by these challenges, but women are the most vulnerable population; this is so because their plight correlates with patriarchal practices—this also supports the feminist theory. Carlen [16], and Heidensohn [17] explained that male-dominated patriarchal societies encourage exploitation, manipulation, aggression, and violence against women, making it easier and more successful for them to be used in committing the crime. Others agreed that, for a better understanding of the pattern of crime, including slavery and other forms of servitude, the analysis should be inseparably linked to political economy, particularly unemployment, inequality, and patriarchy, which are the characteristic of most capitalist societies [5, 10, 18].

Like political economy variables, the feminist theory addresses the issue of gendered modern-day slavery against the background of gender inequity and gender bias in society. Explanations have been provided by some feminists as to why this is the case. While different brands of feminism attempt to provide a partial and provisional answer to the woman question, they nevertheless intersect to explain ways in which women have been oppressed and suppressed in society (see also [5, 10, 11, 19]). As underscored by the political economy perspective, two main feminist theories are relevant to this research: Marxist and radical feminists.

Like political economy theorists, Marxist feminists strongly believe that the relegation of women is connected to capitalist exploitation of their inherent domestic role. They also recognise the presence of a ‘dominant ideology’ (patriarchy) that places women as primary caregivers in the family and community and which is used to rationalise the low status and wage assigned to women, as well as their deprivation of socioeconomic freedom [11, 20]. The advocates of Marxist feminism argued that the situation of ‘relative powerlessness would have been otherwise were women’s production and gender roles in the family, at the workplace, and in the society not subordinated to those of men’ ([1], p. 96).

Radical feminists see the underlying causes of women’s inequality, gender bias, and inequity as deeply rooted in society. The inequity and gender bias against women, including aggression, violence, and human rights violations, could be traced to the patriarchal system of power relations in highly patriarchal societies, such as Nigeria. Furthermore, they draw attention to the neglect of reproduction and derived subordinate sex role of women in the household, which could be traced to the patriarchal system of power relationships in any given society [20]. Taking advantage of women’s vulnerability and relative powerlessness, perpetrators of modern-day enslavement who are mainly men lure their female victims into the sex trade, baby factories, debt bondage, child labour, and early and forced marriage.

Radical feminists explain that, because of its patriarchal nature, the family could be the main staging point for perpetuating crimes against women. When it comes to decision-making, families could take overpowering decisions, virtually forcing their female children into the sex trade as a way of making quick money to lift the family from poverty. For sex trafficking, persons who are usually induced to perform such acts are most times under-aged, below the age of 18 years. In addition to being subjected to work as economic slaves and to perform other forms of labour such as live-in domestic workers and factory workers, most of the times the female victims of trafficking are forced to work in the sex trade. Consequently, female victims of trafficking suffer double exploitation, both as economic slaves and as sex slaves (United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs, UNODC, [21]).

Still on this, a forced marriage occurs when an individual is coerced, threatened, or tricked to marry without his or her informed consent (The [22]), and this could happen to any gender, male or female, young or old, and is oftentimes involves pressure, abuse, aggression, and violence. It is pertinent to note here that a marriage that is performed under duress and without free and informed consent or free will of both parties could be regarded as a forced marriage. Eteng and Njemanze [9] agreed that a forced marriage could be seen as one in which one or both of the parties involved are married without his or her consent or against his or her will. Forced marriages mainly occur early in life in the form of betrothal and by abduction. A marriage that is forced could be considered as an act of aggression, violence, and violation of the human rights of those affected and is also seen as a form of slavery, as it were.

3. Forms of modern-day slavery and their consequences

Modern-day slavery in Nigeria manifests in various forms, but only those ones that seem peculiar and recurring with dire consequences are explained, and they are ‘baby factories’, peonage (debt bondage), and early and forced marriage.

3.1 Baby factory

The term ‘baby factory’ is often used by Nigerian journalists to describe criminal activities involving restriction of a person’s movement against such person’s will, forced impregnations, sale of babies, and illegal adoptions [23]. Policy interventions and scholarly efforts aimed at understanding and explaining the problem are inadequate. Even data on the crime of baby factories are hardly found in the academic literature; rather, the incident is mainly reported in the media, especially magazines and newspapers. Therefore, undertaking this research is to further contribute to the few existing scholarly works on the subject for practical outcomes in policy response. An understanding of the meaning and workings of the baby factory as modern-day slavery would provide a policy guide and interventions aimed at curbing the trend. This, then, calls for the definition of a baby factory as an illegal clinic, maternity, or orphanage where young girls and women with unwanted pregnancies are kept for reasons ranging from money-making, illicit procreation, and coerced sexual exploitation to murder for ritual and child-selling. The business is unlawful, with huge benefits for owners and their accomplices, while victims are threatened and forced to accept enslavement, aggression, and violence as normal [1].

Studies (see United Nations Organisation for Education, Science, and Culture, UNESCO, [1, 23, 24, 25, 26]) consistently show that the first cases of the baby factory in Nigeria were officially reported in 2006 by UNESCO and was then classified as child trafficking prevalent in the southeast part of the country. Later identified incidents occurred across Southern Nigeria, particularly Lagos State, and the phenomenon followed similar trajectories. For instance, pregnant teenagers or adult women with unwanted pregnancies approach doctors, clinics, nurses, or orphanages that subsequently take care of these girls and women during their pregnancies. When babies are born, they are sold to childless couples or couples who are desperate to have a child. The natural mothers of the babies then signed papers, repudiating their ownership or claims on the babies, and thereafter receive monetary compensations [1, 23, 24, 25].

In 2011, The Telegraph [27] reported that police officers, on a tipoff, raided Cross Foundation premises in Aba, Abia State of Nigeria, where pregnant girls between the ages of 15 and 17 were confined to ‘make babies’ (give birth to children for sale) for the proprietor, who sell them to clients. The 32 pregnant young girls and women who were rescued by the police confessed to the crime, stating that they have accepted to sell their awaiting newborn babies, as they were convinced by the owner of this Foundation. These babies would then be sold to buyers for any amount ranging from N300, 000.00 (about $667) Naira to N1, 000000.00 (about $2222) [27], depending on the sex of the baby (a boy child is more expensive than a girl child in the southeastern states of Nigeria).

Eteng and her associate [1] summarised the studies of [26, 28, 29, 30] on baby factories and reached the conclusion that the crime is on the increase with horrific outcomes. From these sources, the situation often involves teenage girls and young women brought by traffickers to clinics and homes referred to as ‘baby factory’ with the promise of jobs, safe abortions, and even money after delivery. The victims are then confined and forced to give birth, with some of them trafficked while being pregnant, and others impregnated at the baby factory by men hired to do so. As further summarised by Eteng et al. [1], owners of baby factories often claim that babies are put up for adoption by childless couples, whereas, in reality, child labour, sexual exploitation, and even ritual are the reasons for their establishment. Even human traffickers obtain their victims from baby factories, operating under the cover of ‘maternity homes’, ‘hospitals’, or ‘orphanages’; the act is both a profitable illegitimate business and a new form of human trafficking in Nigeria [23].

To state the obvious, statistics on baby factories in Nigeria are mainly found in newspapers and magazines [1], so this chapter is a contribution to the dearth of scholarly literature on the phenomenon with the aim of providing a policy guide. For these authors, ‘the problem seems to have peaked between 2008 and 2013’ ([1], p. 4). In May 2008, according to [23], a case of a baby factory was reported to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in Enugu State and the formation swung into action that led to the rescue of 25 teenage girls housed in a baby factory. While 32 victims were freed from captivity in a baby factory located in Aba in June 2011 by NPF, 17 pregnant girls were rescued in Lagos State in October of the same year. A maternity home that belongs to Madam One Thousand in the Umuaka community of Imo State was raided by the police in May 2013. The outcome resulted in the rescue of 26 teenage girls, 17 pregnant teenagers, and 11 babies. This was followed by the June 2013 police operation that led to the rescue of 16 pregnant teenagers in a baby factory situated in Aba [1, 30].

3.2 Peonage (debt bondage)

The ILO Convention No. 182 includes debt bondage as a form of slavery that results in aggression and violence. A person is subjected to peonage or debt bondage when such a person is compelled through force or abuse to work against their will to pay off debts. The situation is particularly debilitating if the value of the work is not actually directed towards the payment of the debt. So many children are pushed into child labour or marriage to settle parental debt burden. Some young girls may be affianced to elderly men, old enough to be their father or grandfather, due to the inability of their parents to pay certain debts. The implication is that girls from affected families become a collateral and mortgage with which parents settle their debts. This is done without considering the psychosocial effects of such actions or inactions on the child (see also [31]).

The practice of peonage is prevalent in India and Nigeria, and is sometimes used to settle conflicts. In this case, a girl child could be given out in marriage to a particular person in compensation for an offence that her parents, family, or community committed against the person. The consent of the girl does not count. A Nigerian example was specifically depicted by Achebe [32] in his classical book titled ‘Things Fall Apart’. In this work, Achebe reported that a woman (the wife of Ogbuefi Udo) from Umuofia was killed by the people of Mbaino. The people of Umuofia met and agreed to send emissaries to Mbaino to ask whether they wanted war or peace. And, to achieve peace, the people of Mbaino gave a young lad and virgin girl to Umuofia. The virgin girl was then given to Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife. By this action, the young girl was forced to marry the old man—Ogbuefi Udo without her understanding and approval. This is also tenable in real-life situations in Nigeria.

3.3 Early forced marriage

Although early forced marriage affects both boys and girls, the majority of victims are girls. According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), it is estimated that 11% of women worldwide were married before the age of 15 years. Boys are also affected by this practice, but the majority of those who suffer slavery that manifests in the form of child marriages are girls [33]. A multi-country study by women living under Muslim laws in 2013, as cited in ref. [9], revealed that the practice of marrying out girls at a young age is rampant in the developing countries of the world. These are specific countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It was revealed that marriages of girls between the ages of 16 and 18 are not uncommon in some areas of Eastern Europe. Marriages at or shortly after puberty are also prevalent in the Middle East, North Africa, and some other parts of Asia. Data collected by UNICEF in 2005 showed that, in South East Asia, women between the ages of 18 and 24, representing 48%, were married out before attaining the age of 18; 42% in Africa; and 29% in Latin America and the Caribbean [9].

Worldwide, it is estimated that 15 million girls, with some as young as 5 years old, are forced into marriage every year; over 700 women alive today were married as children; one in every three girls in the developing world married before 18 and one in nine marry before the age of 15 [34]. Early forced marriage, which is synonymous with child forced marriage, is regarded as a form of slavery in some quarters. This could be the case if the child has not genuinely given his or her free and informed consent to enter into the marriage relationship. Other reasons are if the child is subjected to control and a sense of ownership in the marriage (maybe through abuse, threats, violence, and humiliation), or if the child is subjected to non-consensual sexual affairs and cannot leave or end the marriage that could lead to lifetime slavery. Early forced marriage could also be in the form of betrothal. In this case, the parents of the under-aged girl enter into a marriage contract with a future husband for their daughter. At times, this involves cohabitation between the girl and the man. The girl may be ignorant of the relationship and will have to be informed after a while. This practice used to be associated with the Igbo in the southeastern part of Nigeria, but nowadays, the practice has significantly reduced.

Marriage by abduction, also known as bride capture, is another form of early forced marriage found mainly in Central Asia and parts of Africa. Adom Television [35] reported that this is a practice where a man abducts the girl he wishes to marry. The victim is often raped to lose her virginity, and this makes it easy for them would be groomed to negotiate a bridewealth (price) with the elders of the community. The girl is forced to accept as she is now seen as impure, having lost her virginity, and may face ostracism if she refuses to marry the man. This practice is also common in some parts of Taraba State in Nigeria, although it has gone through some modifications in recent times. At present, the groom may approach the girl’s parents and express his interest in marrying their daughter. The man may entice the girl’s parents with gifts or other incentives. Once the parents have consented, the girl’s opinion becomes irrelevant. They will then arrange and send their daughter on an errand and inform the groom to waylay and ‘steal’ her. The following day, the man will visit the parents of the girl to inform them that their daughter is now with him. At that point, the other marriage rites begin.

In conflict areas, girls and women are sometimes forced to marry men on either side of the conflict. Girls are captured as war victims, raped, and forced into marriage. It was reported recently in Nigeria that some women and young girls captured by the Boko Haram insurgents were raped and forced into marriage. Many of them were carrying unwanted pregnancies when the Nigerian soldiers rescued them from Punch Newspaper [36]. Young girls have been forced into marriage as part of the settlement of disputes between families. In this instance, a girl is given out in marriage to serve as punishment for a crime committed by her male relatives. This is practised in Pakistan and even in Nigeria, as could be seen from the earlier presented narrative of Onwe [31]. ILO [7] reported that the mental torture, abuse, brutalisation, exploitation, and dehumanisation that they experience usually lead to lowered self-esteem. The social stigma attached to this is usually difficult for the victims and their families to bear. This is why some victims are usually unwilling to testify in court in pending cases. In some developing countries, such as Nigeria, India, and Pakistan, modern-day slavery has taken the forms of debt peonage, early and forced marriage, forced child labour, or involuntary servitude.

4. Conclusion and policy implications

Having explored some of the forms of modern-day slavery peculiar to Nigeria, it has become very clear that women are more vulnerable and bear the brunt of it all. They are exploited and used both as economic and sex slaves. These have continued despite all forms of laws that have been put in place by the United Nations and the Nigerian government to protect women against aggression, violence, and human rights abuses. Modern servitudes require inter-State action and collaborative efforts of security operatives from the States/communities victims are trafficked and the destination State/communities to effectively tackle this crime.

However, it is not just enough for NGOs and isolated governments to rescue victims and rehabilitate them. More drastic measures should be taken to crumble this business of modern-day slavery, particularly the baby factory. To this end, efforts should be made to increase awareness and rally the world to fight against this scourge. Just as the world saw the evils of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and abolished it, proper legislations should be made so that countries whose citizens are involved in the business of modern slavery should be made to face global sanctions through the United Nations. Furthermore, since women are the worst victims of early and forced marriage, peonage (debt bondage), and baby factory, concerted efforts should be made by the State security forces to enforce the extant laws and already existing human rights provisions to protect women in the various States in Nigeria where this aggression and violent behaviour is still in practice.

All levels of government in Nigeria (federal, state, and local), nongovernmental organisations, religious institutions, and local authorities and institutions should be more involved in the creation of awareness at the grassroots level on the harmful effects of modern-day slavery in all its ramifications. For wide coverage and practical outcomes, the sensitisation has to be done in local parlance and languages using jingles, radio, television, and the print media. Rescued victims should also be encouraged to expose the perpetrators as part of an effort to fight the menace.

The female population is largely the victim, while most perpetrators are males. The trend in slavery enterprise is typically organised and largely motivated by women’s vulnerabilities and powerlessness, with dehumanising and destructive consequences. Arising from this is the conclusion that certain cultural practices and socioeconomic forces intertwine with poverty, lack of qualitative education, and other exclusions to expose women and girls to servitudes. The problem requires robust intersectoral approaches—that is, coordinated intervention, programmes, and collaborative efforts between governments and local authorities and institutions—to (re)solve.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.